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Species delimitation and conservation genetics of the Canarian endemic Bethencourtia (Asteraceae)

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Abstract

Bethencourtia Choisy ex Link is an endemic genus of the Canary Islands and comprises three species. Bethencourtia hermosae and Bethencourtia rupicola are restricted to La Gomera, while Bethencourtia palmensis is present in Tenerife and La Palma. Despite the morphological differences previously found between the species, there are still taxonomic incongruities in the group, with evident consequences for its monitoring and conservation. The objectives of this study were to define the species differentiation, perform population genetic analysis and propose conservation strategies for Bethencourtia. To achieve these objectives, we characterized 10 polymorphic SSR markers. Eleven natural populations (276 individuals) were analyzed (three for B. hermosae, five for B. rupicola and three for B. palmensis). The results obtained by AMOVA, PCoA and Bayesian analysis on STRUCTURE confirmed the evidence of well-structured groups corresponding to the three species. At the intra-specific level, B. hermosae and B. rupicola did not show a clear population structure, while B. palmensis was aggregated according to island of origin. This is consistent with self-incompatibility in the group and high gene flow within species. Overall, the genetic diversity of the three species was low, with expected heterozygosity values of 0.302 (B. hermosae), 0.382 (B. rupicola) and 0.454 (B. palmensis). Recent bottleneck events and a low number of individuals per population are probably the causes of the low genetic diversity. We consider that they are naturally rare species associated with specific habitats. The results given in this article will provide useful information to assist in conservation genetics programs for this endemic genus.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by “Organismo Autónomo de Parques Nacionales” (Project 255/2011). We thank ‘‘Agencia Canaria de Investigación, Innovación y Sociedad de la Información’’ for the fellowship granted to Priscila Rodríguez. We are also grateful to Ángel Fernández, Sito Chinea and Ángel García from Garajonay National Park and the colleagues Pedro Romero, Agustín Naranjo Cigala, Claudio Moreno Medina, Juan José Robledo Arnuncio, Miguel Ángel González and Leticia Curbelo for the help in the samples collection and the laboratory work. Montserrat Fernández and Isabel Saro have added useful comments to the final version.

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  1. Instituto Universitario de Estudios Ambientales y Recursos Naturales (IUNAT), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Campus Universitario de Tafira, 35017 Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, Spain

    Priscila Rodríguez-Rodríguez & Pedro A. Sosa

  2. Departamento de Botánica, Ecología y Fisiología Vegetal, Universidad de La Laguna, 38071, La Laguna, Canary Islands, Spain

    Pedro Luis Pérez de Paz

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  1. Priscila Rodríguez-Rodríguez
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Correspondence to Priscila Rodríguez-Rodríguez.

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Rodríguez-Rodríguez, P., Pérez de Paz, P.L. & Sosa, P.A. Species delimitation and conservation genetics of the Canarian endemic Bethencourtia (Asteraceae). Genetica 146, 199–210 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10709-018-0013-3

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